SpaceX could be on the cusp of buying 80,000 cell towers in a bid to really challenge Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile

Elon Musk's SpaceX ( SPCX ) may be close to sending another message to the telecom giants: we are seriously coming for you.

The company is eyeing the purchase of 80,000 cell sites across the US, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. SpaceX is reportedly in talks with two of the companies, Crown Castle and American Tower, among the largest owners of cellular towers.

"Committing ~$30 billion into spectrum is serious enough. Committing to 80K macro sites could be a point of no return," Bernstein analyst Laurent Yoon said. "That is a meaningful number, broadly consistent with the scale required for a nationwide terrestrial wireless network. Whether SpaceX ultimately leases anything close to that figure remains uncertain, but the reported scope suggests a far greater level of commitment than spectrum accumulation alone."

Shares of AT&T ( T ), Verizon ( VZ ), and T-Mobile ( TMUS ) traded sharply lower in pre-market trading.

Earlier this month, SpaceX said it acquired a nationwide low-band spectrum portfolio.

Concerns had already escalated across Wall Street that Starlink could disrupt legacy wireless operators like AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile by transitioning from a rural broadband service into a direct mobile competitor.

Following its strategic acquisition of terrestrial spectrum and rapid deployment of advanced satellites, SpaceX had laid the groundwork to launch its own standalone cellular network alongside its direct-to-cell capabilities.

Said Yoon, "Starlink broadband is the threat investors can see today and one that incumbents are beginning to acknowledge. Starlink Mobile remains the larger long-term question given the size and profitability of the wireless market. The competitive impact may still be years away, but anticipation alone, reinforced by each successive spectrum and infrastructure move, is likely to remain an overhang on sector sentiment."

Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor, host of the Sozzi Unleashed morning show, the ' Power Players With Brian Sozzi' podcast and a member of Yahoo Finance's editorial leadership team.